The following article was written by Detroit-based photographer Rosh Sillars:

 

A couple of weeks ago we were commissioned by LightBrigade PR to undertake a shoot at the newly-opened “Hugo’s” restaurant in Egham, Surrey, for DM, website and general marketing use. Good restaurant interiors are always a challenge – particularly if you are  shooting while they’re  open and serving customers ! The mistake a lot of inexperienced photographers make when presented with a commercial interior is to put on their widest lens and attempt to capture everything in one or two angles. My technique is to look at the overall picture and then select elements that catch the eye, whether it’s the light on the bar stools or the Damien Hirst painting on the wall. It’s these details that tend to lodge in the memory, rather than sprawling vistas of a dining room in it’s entirety.

 

 

Some general shots are of course essential to give a sense of place, but again showing just enough to tempt you to come and see what else is on offer…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shooting up to this point had been available light only, but  my portraits of chef Antonio Romani and manager Leo Alexander were each lit by a single soft box. For Antonio I shot with flash, but for Leo I shot using just the built in modelling light , making it easier to balance foreground and background exposure levels.

 

 

Food was next on the menu, again lit by a single soft box and shot with an 80mm Macro Nikkor.  We selected scallops with bacon and a roasted vegetable platter with parma ham, as both dishes gave us terrific colours and textures to work with.

 

 

 

 

 

Final shot of the afternoon was the exterior. We’d left this until last as although Hugo’s is situated in a prime position, the surrounding buildings are fairly nondescript and there is lots of street furniture to contend with. This image was tweaked in post production to reduce the effect of the surroundings and focus attention on the front elevation itself.

 

 

 

 

August is traditionally “voicemail month” when the entire business world apparently goes on holiday at the same time. For us it’s a time to work on new ideas and strategies for the Autumn and to take advantage of the longer days to get out and about and shoot some library stock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fortunately the phone still remembers to ring with “real” work and variety was to be the order of the day. Here’s a small selection of what we got up to.

 

CRASH DIET  A call from Caters News Agency in Birmingham on Bank Holiday Sunday took me to Bognor Regis to photography Bryony Sutherland. After a car accident five years ago, when it took eight firemen three hours to cut her free, Bryony finally realised a “crash” diet was in order and went on to lose over seven stone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MONKEY BUSINESS  Portsmouth International Port was the venue for the arrival of two rescued monkeys from Slovenia. Once the car ferry had unloaded I was taken on board to meet the team from Monkey World in Dorset, who had driven virtually non-stop across Europe in order to limit the stress to these previously maltreated animals. On an empty car deck I had a very brief photo opportunity as the monkeys were gently transferred from the team’s Land Cruiser to their waiting quarantine van. The larger of the two repeatedly hid from sight in her box, but on three very brief occasions popped her face up to the window - and I had my shot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SHIP AHOY ! A week later I was back at the Port again to cover the departure of Fred Olsen Lines’ cruise ship ”Boudicca”. I joined Gareth and Julie from Navigate Design on the harbourmasters’ launch and spent a productive hour out on the water shooting her firstly alongside, then tracking her as she passed some of the City’s most prominent landmarks on her way out to sea. The weather was changeable to say the least, ranging from bright sunlight to dark cloud, but my past experience of  shooting both power and sail from (much smaller) moving boats ensured  an excellent selection of images were delivered to our client.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE KID’S ARE ALRIGHT  Three full day shoots were commissioned by ACS International Schools  to provide additional prospectus images to add to our shoots from earlier in the Summer. I’ve worked with ACS for nearly twenty years and now enjoy a huge amount of creative freedom in terms of the imagery I produce for them. I shoot exclusively with available light to minimise distraction in the classrooms and will frequently have to sit quietly on the floor of a kindergarten classroom until they forget I’m there !  For legal reasons I cannot show any images of the children here, but my work on all three UK campuses can be viewed on their website http://acs-schools.com 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GROUP THERAPY  From the simple to the complex, group photos can provide some interesting challenges and last week provided a rather unique situation involving groups of ever increasing sizes. The first was a straightforward  shot of 25 delegates at DeVere Venues’ Horsley training centre in Surrey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We then headed down the M3 to Sutton Scotney near Winchester for the Association of Applied Biologists’ Conference. The weather was doubful with drizzle forecast and this time we had a group of 90 delegates to organise. A quick look-around the conference centre and hotel revealed no suitable indoor locations – and very few useable outdoor ones.  For a group this size height is nearly always the best solution, so we decided the best option was to shoot from a balcony above the bar patio. Once all the tables and chairs had been cleared we paced out the area and put guides down for our front and side lines. With Karen’s help we quickly mustered a somewhat bemused multi-national crowd into some semblance of order before I headed upstairs to the camera position to fine tune things. A couple of quick blasts of the dog whistle ensured I got everyone’s attention and within a couple of minutes we had our shot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But why stop at 90 ?  Thursday 21st was the International Peace One Day event and as I was already booked on-site at the ACS Egham campus, they had asked me to shoot over 700 pupils and staff assembled to form the peace symbol. The staff had already mapped out the area with coloured markers so I headed up to the roof of the mansion house via a series of dusty lofts and ladders until I reached a small platform on top of the clock tower, about 80 feet above ground level. At 9.30 sharp all the students were brought out class by class and within 8 minutes, using two-way radios, some shouting and a lot of waving, we achieved a very acceptable image of a peace symbol !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In post-production we edited the RAW file and removed the  intruding roofline on the left of the shot, the coloured marker cones and added the title, leaving the finished shot below.

 

 

Commission: New brochure photography for an office block re-development in Southampton city centre.

As with all architectural photography this project was weather-dependent. Obtaining sunrise and sunset data was the first step, allowing us to work out the optimum lightfall at various times of the day. We combined this with Google Street View which allowed us to look at potential angles beforehand, ensuring that once on site our time was optimised.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The first morning visit was forecast with cloud cover increasing by midday from the South. With this in mind we headed straight for the roof to shoot two panoramic views of the city skyline. Here’s the view looking West from what is Southampton’s tallest building.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 … just remember not to look down !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next we moved indoors to capture one of the office spaces. These are large (and currently empty ) but the aim here was to capture the space and the outlook. This was a challenge as there was a six stop difference between the interior and the exterior levels. To resolve this problem we ended up combining four different exposures and then blending the layers manually to achieve a result that looked as “real” as possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We followed this shot up with the reception area with it’s flowing curves and sweeps, reminiscent of the old ocean liners . Shot from the door this gave us deep shadow areas by the lifts and on the first floor landing,  which we lit with two 200ws Lumedyne heads fitted with globe diffusers to balance with the ambient light.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second visit was for daylight exteriors of the front and rear elevations and the new signage. These were essentially straightforward shots, just a case of donning a hi-vis and dodging the traffic to find some sympathetic angles to soften the rather rigid geometry of the building.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The third and final visit called for some dramatic night shots to highlight the building’s lighting and give a busy, city centre feel.

We arrived on site a few minutes before sunset and headed up onto the Itchen Bridge for a long establishing shot. Regrettably the forecast “clear spell” had not materialised and although the sun had set behind the building, the flat, pinkish cloud lacked definition and failed to inspire, so we headed back to street level. About 25 minutes later the structure began to come alive as it’s blue wing lighting came on and the sky started to darken. It’s for this reason that photographers often refer to the period just after sunset as the “golden hour”, but you have to work quickly as it doesn’t last long. For one of the overall shots a low angle worked best as it removed some unecessary street furniture from the frame and increased the drama. A 10 second exposure to catch the light streaks from the numerous passing taxis added colour and buzz. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 For the final image of the evening we got down and dirty, with the tripod spread flat in the gutter and working only a few feet from  speeding cars on one side and drunken Saturday-night revellers on the other. We thankfully survived both and headed home for a well earned nightcap !

Pre-publicity shoot at The Rose Theatre in Kingston for Stephen Unwins’ new production of The Importance of Being Earnest, starring Jane Asher.

Objective: To create an eye-catching image of Jane’s potrayal of the indomitable Lady Bracknell, that brings out the full depth of the character.

Equipment: 8′ x 6′ Lastolite Hi-Lite 4x BX500 Ri Elinchrom heads Soft boxes Nikon D700 NK Remote software from Breeze Systems

Jane is a very beautiful woman but she is now in her sixties, so soft frontal lighting was the order of the day. In view of the overhang of the hat I also chose to light from a much lower angle than I would normally, which was also more flattering to her skin tones. At this early stage Jane did not know the script,so we had to dispense with the usual run through of lines and concentrate on delivering the expression we wanted by reaction alone. After a few attempts at working full length I moved in closer, which greatly increased the eye contact between us. We tried various angles, but settled on Jane starting with her back to me, then turning suddenly to camera to introduce some spontaneous action. Shooting tethered allowed the marketing and styling team to watch the results on a screen behind me and it very soon became clear we were getting the results we wanted. We shot 130 frames which were wittled down to a selection of five before the final choice was made. The RAW file required very little work beyond a slight level and curve adjustment and a small amount of highlight recovery for the fine detail on the collar lace. The final image and the finished poster are shown below.

           

Back in Portsmouth at 8am last Friday for the official opening of the new £16.5m cruise terminal by business secretary Vince Cable. This time I was accompanied by my colleague Michel Focard, as the PR team from Navigate Design had decided to employ us both to get maximum coverage. We were blessed with great weather on the day and for added excitement a small number of well-behaved but very vocal anti-government protesters. Whilst Michel was assigned to cover all the arrivals and hospitality, I was left to shadow Vince and port manager Martin Putman for the duration of the visit. Thanks to the planning skills of the Navigate team the entire event went without a hitch, we got all the images we needed and the key shots were edited and wired out by lunchtime.  I love it when a plan comes together…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last Monday in March found us on site at the new Portsmouth Cruise Terminal, booked to shoot some glossy interiors and exteriors of the new building which was opening it’s doors on April 1st. Now the date alone should have been an omen – the weather was dull and grey and as we entered the terminal it was painfully apparent it was still very much a “work in progress”. As we were walked around by the port manager, our client started looking a little distressed and started asking if there was anything at all we could possibly make from the mess ! It was obvious overall shots of the interior were out of the question so we resorted to creating “teaser” shots to get the feel across.
Outside areas were a little easier, but in all cases I had to do several hours subtle retouching to supply a selection of viable, professional-quality images.
The client was delighted and our final pictures got good exposure in the both the regional and specialist press.

Below are some “befores” and “afters” to show what we had to do . .

December saw us undertaking a major corporate portrait shoot for our client Balfour Beatty Workplace. With a brief to shoot “our people” not “where they work”, we had decided that high-key portraiture was the most suitable style for this project. With a recently purchased 6′ x 7′ Lastolite Hi-Lite, five Elinchrom strobes and assorted cameras and laptops, we visited five different locations over a fourteen-day period. We had deliberately spaced the shoots out as although they were intrinsically simple, we had a limited amount of time with each subject and only one chance to get it right.  The Hi-Lite itself proved a very useful piece of kit, allowing us to obtain a consistent look to the images regardless of where we had set up. Everything was shot RAW as many of the final images will be blown up to over 6′ high so quality was critical. With the tools of their trade we photographed everyone from cleaners to plumbers, telephonists to porters and gardeners to electricians. I have to say we have rarely worked with a nicer bunch of people, so thank you to everyone at Southampton, Chelsea, Watford, Islington and Hendon. We couldn’t have done it without you !   

Here’s a little look at how it went . . .                  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Back in my favourite field of photography last week at the Southampton Mercure Dolphin Hotel, shooting food for a forthcoming Daily Echo supplement. Gorgeous high windows in the hotel’s Georgian dining room meant it was natural light all the way with just a couple of carefully placed reflectors as kickers. Shooting direct to the laptop with Breeze System’s brilliant NK Remote software allowed GM Neil Brailsford and chef  Steve to check they were happy with what we were doing at any point, and we had the required six  shots in the can in under two hours.

..or how to get that “in-flight” look without leaving the ground !

A very wet Tuesday morning saw Karen and I in the Sussex village of Lavant, loading cameras and a full lighting rig onto a Boeing 737 . Well, not exactly, as this was a fuselage section owned by Leki Aviation, who had kindly allowed us to use it for a day’s shooting for our client, Alan Mann Aviation. I’d done a location recce a month ago, so I knew the “look” we had to achieve – regardless of the weather outside. The product we were shooting was a child restraint system and our brief was to provide some convincing images of the product in use onboard an aircraft in flight.

Scouting shots – on a sunny day !

The crew from Leki had already fitted the seats we had chosen and hooked up the 240, so already our shell was beginning to look more recognisable. All we had to do now was to light this somewhat restricting space convincingly…

Nice seats … now where are the models ?

Kate, Barry and Kevin from AMA arrived around 11 o’clock, by which time we had rigged the remaining lights, checked all our levels and finally managed to stop the rain from coming in horizontally through the cabin door ! Our aircraft was now warm and cosy - at least I tried to prove this by working in a T-shirt for five minutes – before finally agreeing with everyone that this would have been more pleasant in the summer – and putting my sweatshirt back on !

Before the babies arrived we shot a series of detail pictures illustrating the storage and assembly of the seat . .

The children arrived bang on time at 1 o’clock and (wary as ever about the old adage of working with children and animals) we planned to get the next stage of the shoot done before either of them got to bored or too grizzly. Our two month-old was first up and he sat contentedly throughout. The smiles were doubtless attributed more to wind than my witty banter, but we achieved the desired results before he was whisked back down to his Mum for a feed !

Next up was our two year-old, who took a little more persuading to climb into the seat until Kate’s timely intervention with of a packet of crisps - which did the trick !

This little lad was rather more patient and with an i-Phone video playing just out of frame to keep him amused, we shot away happily achieving exactly what we’d set out to do.

Here are a couple of the final images to show just what can be obtained from a situation like this with careful planning. None of our final images have had any Photoshop work done on them other than level and colour balance corrections.  What you see is what we shot !

 

Special thanks go to Andrew Newell and his team at Leki Aviation. We couldn’t have done it without you !

Alan Mann Aviation http://www.alanmann.co.uk/

Leki Aviation  http://www.lekiaviation.com/